Greece Blog

We can all have our own views of a great Epic story of America. We could have one and we could not. I truly feel that every country has a Epic. The story of epic that I feel has brought forth the great characteristics of America is the bringing forth of Constitution. The constitution has brought forth many traits and characteristics of this great nation that has greatly impacted people though out the generations.

The reason why I feel that this is Americas Epic is because, we had some diligent and faithful leaders of this great country that would not back down and stood up for what should be rightly brought forth. With them fighting for the Constitution, it brought forth freedoms to us as a nation. The Bill of Rights and Amendments. these freedoms gave us the freedom of speech, religion, etc. Without these freedoms we would be a controlled country and we would not be able to fulfill the things we do today. One of the other great epic stories of this great country was brought forth from this great Constitution was the bringing forth of Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that was lost for so many years leading up to this great event.

With the greatness of this gospel being restored it brought forth great happiness to many people searching for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why I believe this is a great epic story to the American society is because a great man named Joseph Smith was searching the truth and as he received guidance from his Heavenly Father, he brought forth something so great, even with all the trials and persecution that he and the Church faced. "He knew it, and he knew that God knew it, and he could deny it." The bringing forth of the Restoration of the Gospel brought forth greatness of the characteristics of this American society just like The Constitution.

With these two great events occurring the the US of A, we can reflect on a lot of hero's. We need to reflect on the greatness of the founding fathers and their willingness to accomplish what they new to be right. As well as the founding fathers we can reflect on Joseph Smiths willingness to follow the will of God and do what he needed to accomplish to bring forth this great work. These all heroic individuals have special places within my heart and will always go down with there story as Epic to the characteristics of America, they are a few people that have helped shape and made our country become what it is today.

Happiness

As I ponder over the different aspects of happiness and which one is more dominant in our society, I can't help to think of all the types of happiness being a big part of our society. With each new culture we are around there will be changes in the views of happiness. But my overall thinking of the the happiness that would be in our society I would have to say would be Stoicism. The reason why I feel that way is because as we go through life we experience pain, suffering. Its a fact of life, there is no way to escape it or get rid of it. In the reading it states "when you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on". This i feel is stating what life is. We might have something dramatic happen to us, such like a sudden death of a family member. Do we close ourselves from the situation and try to wait till it passes by? No we cope with it, we are sadden about the loss but we deal with it and reflect on the great life that individual had. Our society always is dealing with sudden distractions or sorrows. I feel like we deal with it pretty well, if not our society would fail and we would not be able to deal with life. We reflect on what happened and move on. According to me views on happiness I would say our society for the most part has similar views as I do. Coping with a loss of a family member or even something that has even happened within my own life; Divorce is what I had to do. When my parents separated, I could have changed my views of happiness and try to get away from the situation by going and experiencing happiness other ways like, drinking, partying, and things like that. But i knew the situation and the separation of my parents would never leave, it would always be there and eventually I would have to face the situation. And now for my views of happiness as stoicism I have coped with it and have moved on to experience other happiness in my life.

As a child, I feel like they should be taught the ways of the world. It is better for one self to experience in a since "defeat" when young rather then be sheltered there whole life and then get into the real world and think they are on top of the world, and in all reality they are not. Those kids that are sheltered and when young get everything they want, as they grow up and see that they can't get everything they want when they move out they tend to go over the "deep end" and end up messing up their lives. So as I think on the situation with the musical chairs and the prizes. If all the children receive the same prize just so one does not get their feelings hurt then they will expect it again and again. They will never experience defeat, failure or sorrow till its to late and they find themselves experiencing it and not knowing how to cope with the situation. Of course if they all received the same prize, all the children would be happy but in the long run not one would be happy as they grow up and get on their own, and experience the real world life.

Each theory of happiness has a great explanation of the cause. But the theory of happiness that I feel has the most meaning and is helpful to the world is Stoicism. Just like the first question I answered. Everyone is going to experience pain, sorrow etc. and we need to cope with it. Doesn't matter which culture we are in, or what. We need to deal and cope with the situation. We can still experience happiness out of the situation. no matter what, maybe not in the moment like a child getting rape, you can't really experience cope real well with that and experience happiness in the moment but if you look past the situation and problem, happiness will always overcome and out way the sorrow and pain. The one that is least helpful to the world in my opinion is I believe is Hedonism. And the reason why I feel that way is cause I think of the quote, "Eating my sorrows away", really? can we do that, No way. People think they can do that in order to get away from pain and that is how they can have happiness. I really don't feel like that gives us happiness. Just like sleeping around, drinking all the time or anything of immoral thinking. I feel like they do those things to try to experience happiness but in the long run they still have to face to pain and even within the happiness can be pain, for example drinking all the time, they have the pain and no happiness the next day when they are feeling terrible and living by the toilet. But that is just my thoughts and feelings.

In To the Woods #2

 “Wishes may bring problems such that you regret them. Better that, though, than to never get them” was sang I could relate to this statement so much. As well as everyone in this world. In life, we all have choices. Some of those choices/wishes come true and some of them do not. And should we be disappointed when they do not come true. As i think on the Musical and the wishes some of the actors had, such as; Rapunzel wanting to be free from the tower. She hoped and prayed everyday to get down from there, once she got her wish granted and she was free at last, she realized that she did not like what her wish had gave her. She experienced heartache, sadness and misery. But with experience the heartache of her wish, i feel like she experience life changing events until her death. If she would have just stayed up in the tower then she would have never experienced anything fun/exciting in her life before she was killed. Life is full of excitement and sorrows. And we have to experience both to enjoy life, to test how we will react. In her case with her wish not being was she had anticipated, the she was upset and sorrowful on every aspect of what she had in her life. We need to realize the regrets we feel when our wish brings problems, or pains etc; can bring experience and growth in our lives. 

Another character in the musical that experienced this was her mother, The Witch. Just like Rapunzel she wished for something great and once she had the wish, she felt the regret from her wish. Having super powers doesn't mean you have the whole world in your hands. This is what the witch realized after receiving her wish. In my own life i have experienced regret from my wishes/desires. In the moment thats all you can think about, and then when its granted or fulfilled you see the consequences or regrets. Some people that i know that experienced regret was within my own family. As my parents got married, it was everything they wished for. But as time went on, each one took different wishes and had them fulfilled and it led them to separating and then to a divorce. Both wanted a wish granted unto them and both received it and in the long run it in a since bit them in the butt that led to destroying their marriage. They then witnessed the regrets of their wishes. This song, I for sure agree with. We can't go through life having wishes but not having them granted. If we have a wish, i feel that we are going to do anything to receive that wish. I call that persistency. and when we are persistent we get whatever we want. Good or Bad, and with good we experience happiness. And when its bad we experience regret. Its better to experience and grow then to not grow and learn at all.

As the Witch toward the end of the play sang,“You’re so nice. You’re not good, you’re not bad, you’re just nice. I’m not good, I’m not nice, I’m just right.” I thought long and hard on what she was meaning by this. What i came to in the end was, everyone has traits, or gifts. She is stating to the other actors when they are talking about what to do with the giant that they are nice. Only nice. And when i say only nice, I mean only nice. She feels like they are nice cause they kept talking how they couldn't give the boy to the giant, even though he was the one to upset the giant. They were friendly or NICE. If they were good then they would have fulfilled what they giant wanted them to do, give up the boy and then they would be safe, but they cared more about being nice then being good and fulfilling what they giant had wished for. The Witch said she was "Right", i feel like she stated that cause she assumed that every time she shared something that it was right. She was really stuck on herself and all she cared about was doing what she wanted, so therefore she would be right. Just like in our own lives, we have "nice" people, and "Right" people. In my opinion, the nice people get messed over with what they want to do or have done. and then the right people get whatever they wish for. I'm still trying to figure out how that is but it happens all the time. Out of being nice, good, and right. I fill like the "nice" is better, mainly cause Im the nice guy. Well i try to be most of the time. even though I don't get everything that i want like the right people, it makes me feel satisfied or pleased when I am the nice guy and everyone loves me for who i am and what I do for them. Its better to be nice then to be right in my opinion.

Into the Woods Blog post 2

When the song “Wishes may bring problems such that you regret them. Better that, though, than to never get them” was sang I could relate to this statement so much. As well as everyone in this world. In life, we all have choices. Some of those choices/wishes come true and some of them do not. And should we be disappointed when they do not come true. As i think on the Musical and the wishes some of the actors had, such as; Rapunzel wanting to be free from the tower. She hoped and prayed everyday to get down from there, once she got her wish granted and she was free at last, she realized that she did not like what her wish had gave her. She experienced heartache, sadness and misery. But with experience the heartache of her wish, i feel like she experience life changing events until her death. If she would have just stayed up in the tower then she would have never experienced anything fun/exciting in her life before she was killed. Life is full of excitement and sorrows. And we have to experience both to enjoy life, to test how we will react. In her case with her wish not being was she had anticipated, the she was upset and sorrowful on every aspect of what she had in her life. We need to realize the regrets we feel when our wish brings problems, or pains etc; can bring experience and growth in our lives. Another character in the musical that experienced this was her mother, The Witch. Just like Rapunzel she wished for something great and once she had the wish, she felt the regret from her wish. Having super powers doesn't mean you have the whole world in your hands. This is what the witch realized after receiving her wish. In my own life i have experienced regret from my wishes/desires. In the moment thats all you can think about, and then when its granted or fulfilled you see the consequences or regrets. Some people that i know that experienced regret was within my own family. As my parents got married, it was everything they wished for. But as time went on, each one took different wishes and had them fulfilled and it led them to separating and then to a divorce. Both wanted a wish granted unto them and both received it and in the long run it in a since bit them in the butt that led to destroying their marriage. They then witnessed the regrets of their wishes. This song, I for sure agree with. We can't go through life having wishes but not having them granted. If we have a wish, i feel that we are going to do anything to receive that wish. I call that persistency. and when we are persistent we get whatever we want. Good or Bad, and with good we experience happiness. And when its bad we experience regret. Its better to experience and grow then to not grow and learn at all.As the Witch toward the end of the play sang,“You’re so nice. You’re not good, you’re not bad, you’re just nice. I’m not good, I’m not nice, I’m just right.” I thought long and hard on what she was meaning by this. What i came to in the end was, everyone has traits, or gifts. She is stating to the other actors when they are talking about what to do with the giant that they are nice. Only nice. And when i say only nice, I mean only nice. She feels like they are nice cause they kept talking how they couldn't give the boy to the giant, even though he was the one to upset the giant. They were friendly or NICE. If they were good then they would have fulfilled what they giant wanted them to do, give up the boy and then they would be safe, but they cared more about being nice then being good and fulfilling what they giant had wished for. The Witch said she was "Right", i feel like she stated that cause she assumed that every time she shared something that it was right. She was really stuck on herself and all she cared about was doing what she wanted, so therefore she would be right. Just like in our own lives, we have "nice" people, and "Right" people. In my opinion, the nice people get messed over with what they want to do or have done. and then the right people get whatever they wish for. I'm still trying to figure out how that is but it happens all the time. Out of being nice, good, and right. I fill like the "nice" is better, mainly cause Im the nice guy. Well i try to be most of the time. even though I don't get everything that i want like the right people, it makes me feel satisfied or pleased when I am the nice guy and everyone loves me for who i am and what I do for them. Its better to be nice then to be right in my opinion.

Into the Woods #1

As I thought about all the proverbs that were involved in the play, they all had deep meanings that I never really thought about. Some of the Proverbs that I decided to think about and also write about were, "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor" and also "The mouth of the wolf’s not the end of the world".

The first Proverb, "opportunity is not a lengthy visitor", is meaning in my own words that, we all have opportunities come before our lives, some of us decide not to pursue those opportunities or just wait for a more "convenient" time. As we wait or don't even pursue them those opportunities pass right on by and we miss the "opportunity" to experience something new. I can apply this proverb to life cause it happens on a daily basis to me in my own life. I experience many different opportunities, and at times I don't even try and acknowledge those opportunities and I miss something new that could impact my life for the good. As I try to revert back to that opportunity it doesn't happen cause my life is always experiencing new changes and opportunities. So the opportunity that I  looked pass and did not pursue does not constantly stay within my reach to grab whenever I want. I believe for this specific proverb, the truth of it can't break down, but that doesn't necessarily mean its a bad thing. It just means that you missed out on that opportunity cause it does not just wait around for your time. But we always experience different opportunities, so opportunities mean more experience. We need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes before us and not let it pass on by.

The second Proverb, "The mouth of the wolf’s not the end of the world", is meaning that whenever we come before a challenge or what I like to refer as a bump in the road, does not mean that we should give up and throw in the towel. When I say throw in the towel I refer to just calling it and thinking the end of the world is happening. We can all relay this to life in general because as we go through life we experience hard times, such as; deaths, divorces, heartache etc and we just think the world is falling down all around us, but we tend to get through the hard times and great things happen. the hard times represent the mouth of the wolf and sometimes it fills like the mouth is just clamped down way to tight around us and we can't breath and just fill like giving up, but we can always have to strength to overcome it and pry open that mouth or affliction that we are facing at the time. I fill like this proverb can't break down because there is always a way out. we all have the ability to overcome whatever we are facing, but the sad part about it is that a good part of us just give up and act like its the end of the world. But in all reality we can come out on top and have a greater time experiencing the world.

"Be Drunk", about myself

1. As I reflected on the "Be Drunk" poem, at first just seeing the title I was taken a back but as the poem described being drunk on Poetry, virtue, etc. it made a lot of since to me. As we go through life we need to be drunk. Not the type of drunk i feel that everyone today views drunk as. But even pertaining to drinking, we always need to be drunk in whatever we are pursuing. As we go through life we make goals; education goals, spiritual goals, physical goals and so many other goals throughout our lives, and if we don't put our all in those goals, or in the way of the poem be drunk in our goals we will not fulfill those goals. In my life I want to I want be an Athletic Trainer and one day get my Physical Therapy license. Those take in a lot of schooling and I have a really hard time in school cause I am a physical guy not a book guy, but those are my goals and dreams so I know I need to be drunk in the work. Do all I can to achieve those goals. I am working right now with Athletic Trainers here at the college and the work that they do I am soaking all in. I watch there every move to learn and get acquainted with the work that one day I will do. As I go through life I hope to always remember to "Be Drunk" in whatever I have my mind set on.

2. My name is Triston Rogers. I am in your 12:00 Class. I am from Arizona, I always am asked what brought me here to Dixie State College and I tell eveyone that I am still asking that same question to myself. I still don't know why i'm here but I know as of right now its working out great for me, cause I am getting the schooling that i need and want. I have the job that i want with the athletic trainers here at the college. I am the youngest of 5 children. I served my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Montana. My mom also lives in montana. Like I said above am going into Sports Medicine, going to get my AS degree here at Dixie and then next fall plan on transferring to BYU to do there Athletic Training Program. 

The Way To Perfection:Study

Just imagine this, Your 5' 4" a solid 100 pounds and just skin and bones, your opponent is a good 6' 4" and a good 280 pounds. Sounds pretty hard to believe that these two people could go one on one with each other. Its only obvious that the monster of a man, the 280 pound man would in a sense destroy the little man that is weighing in at 100 pounds. There is no hope for the little man, Right? well, not necessarily, why do I say that you might be asking? Well crazier things have happened, no matter how big or strong the guy is and how little you are, you can still defeat that person. There are so many ways, of course you couldn't really go head on to the man, but you can find his weaknesses. You would have to study him out, and see what he lacks in. He might lack in movement, stamina, whatever the case, but you would find that so you can come out on top.

When I was in the 6th grade, you could say that I was a wee-little-lad. Don't know the exact size of me but I was small. I still played football. I would never stop loving and doing a sport just because I was not big enough or whatever the case was. But my 6th grade year, I went into the football season, I really loved catching the football, so a receiver you might say I wanted to be. Well to my surprise I was not put as a receiver I was put on the line. I was blown away, a little man like me on the line, brought a big shock into my eyes. I didn't even really know what to do on the line. I felt like the team on "Little Giants" that had no idea what they were doing. But they kept on pushing through and found the other teams weaknesses and at the very end they came on top. Even though at times it was tough and I was put on the line against some very VERY big boys. I got pushed around most of the times, I still pressed through it and I even did what I was on the line to do. To block them or get through to cause a massive pile up so the line backers could tackle the quarter back or running backs. But the only way that I was able to accomplish that was to study the man out in front of me. I had to see what his weakness was. Most of the time I just had to be faster then him.

We always need to be studying. If its for a big football game, basketball game or even preparing spiritually.

Our Heavenly Father has given us Scriptures to study on a regular basis to prepare to meet him and to learn of what we need to do in life. These scriptures are The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. In Doctrine and Covenants 109:7 it states, " Yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith." (Boldness added). Study is a vital part in our progression in Perfection. If we did not study we would not learn and grow in this gospel. As I study the scriptures every day, I learn something new all the time. That is the stuff that I need to apply in my life, so I can be better and know what I need to do or stay away from so I can be like our Heavenly Father.

Through studying out the things necessary for coming out on top when going head on to a giant or whatever the case might be we can be successful and we can prepare our selves for PERFECTION!!!